In short, the whole valley breathed delicious fragrance: add to this, innumerable cataracts rushed from the mountain’s summits, occasioned by the late copious rains. From hence a good turnpike-road soon conducted us to the romantic town of MACHYNLLETH, considered as the center of the woollen manufactory in this part of the country, principally of the _strong cloth_, or _high country cloth_. {81} The situation of Machynlleth, (or as it is pronounced by the Welch, _Mahunthleth_) is extremely romantic, stupendous mountains forming a natural rampart round the town. We here visited the neglected Mansion, where Owen Glendwr assembled the States of the Principality, in 1402, and accepted from their hands the crown of Wales. Part of the house is now allotted for the purpose of a stable, the remainder is turned into a butcher’s shop:— “_Sic transit gloria mundi_!” In fine, the only evident remains of its ever having been celebrated in the annals of history, is a spacious door way. The town itself, in many parts, bears the appearance of antiquity; the streets are considerably wider than Welch towns in general, and the market-place is well built. As we entered Machynlleth, being the first town in North Wales, we were in a manner instinctively induced to reflect on the various incidents that had befallen us from our first sallying forth on our pedestrian excursion. We took a retrospect on all our little troubles, with equally as much delight, as the sailor, who, by the blessing of Providence, has escaped the most imminent dangers: all our past imaginary dangers (for imaginary evils are frequently worse than real ones) were overbalanced with reflections on the many hours of pleasure that were flown unheeded by: these reflections brought to my recollection some interesting lines in Bowles’s Sonnets, which I involuntarily exclaimed aloud, “Fair scenes ye lend a pleasure long unknown To him who passes weary on his way; The farewell tear, which now he turns to pay Shall thank you; and whene’er of pleasures flown, His heart some long-lost image would renew, Delightful haunts! he will remember you.”